Springer Appeal Strikes Out

[The Observer]

LINDSEY K. SPRINGER,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
CHRISTOPHER D. ALBIN; JASON C. WHITE; DONALD A. ANDERSON;
MARC K. COLLINS; KATHY L. BECKNER; DONALD G. SHOEMAKE;
BRIAN SHERN; WILLIAM R. TAYLOR; SCOTT A. WELLS;
DIANA S. MEGLI; LOY DEAN SMITH,
Defendants-Appellants.

Release Date: OCTOBER 15, 2010


UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

(D.C. No. 4:06-CV-00156-GKF-FHM)

(N.D. Okla.)

ORDER

Before McKAY, Circuit Judge, BRORBY, Senior Circuit Judge, and EBEL, Circuit Judge.

This matter is before the court on Appellee's petition for rehearing with suggestion for rehearing en banc. The petition for panel rehearing is granted solely to clarify on pages 13, 15, and 18 that the agents were executing a valid search warrant at the time the lawfully seized money allegedly was stolen. In all other respects, panel rehearing is denied. The panel's original order and judgment is withdrawn, and a revised order and judgment is attached to this order.

The suggestion for rehearing en banc was transmitted to all of the judges of the court who are in regular active service as required by Fed. R. App. P. 35. As no member of the panel and no judge in regular active service on the court requested that the court be polled, the suggestion is denied.

Entered for the Court,

Elisabeth A. Shumaker, Clerk

* * * * *

ORDER AND JUDGMENT/*/

Before McKAY, Circuit Judge, BRORBY, Senior Circuit Judge, and EBEL, Circuit Judge.

Lindsey K. Springer, proceeding pro se, 1 brought a Bivens action against eleven special agents of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), asserting that they violated his Fourth Amendment rights by stealing $ 2,000 during or following the execution of a search warrant at his home. See Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971) (recognizing cause of action for damages against federal agents acting under their authority who allegedly violated plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights). The district court denied the agent's motion for summary judgment, which was based in part on qualified immunity. In this interlocutory appeal, the agents appeal the district court's denial of qualified immunity. We first conclude that we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 1291 to consider the legal questions presented in this appeal. See Thomas v. Durastanti, 607 F.3d 655, 658-59, 662 (10th Cir. 2010) (recognizing that this court considers only legal questions when considering interlocutory appeal from denial of qualified immunity). Also, we conclude that there was no clearly established law that the agents' conduct violated the Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, we reverse the denial of qualified immunity and remand to the district court to enter judgment in favor of the agents.

BACKGROUND

On September 16, 2005, the agents executed a search warrant at Mr. Springer's home as part of an investigation into his tax activities. The warrant authorized seizure of currency and other items. During the execution of the warrant, Jeanie Springer, Mr. Springer's wife, told the agents about currency in her bedroom dresser drawer. The currency consisted of $ 20 and $ 100 bills separated into bundles. Agent Loy Dean Smith photographed the currency, and Agents Donald A. Anderson and William R. Taylor separately counted it in front of Mrs. Springer. Both agents determined there was approximately $ 19,000. Agent Taylor prepared an evidence tag for the currency, stating on the tag that there was approximately $ 19,000 in cash. Based on the evidence tag, Agent Christopher D. Albin then recorded in the inventory of items seized that approximately $ 19,000 had been seized pursuant to the warrant.

Agents Taylor and Brian Shern took the currency to a bank to have it counted and to obtain a cashier's check. The bank teller, using a counting machine, counted the money twice, each time informing the agents that there was only $ 17,000. The agents obtained a cashier's check in that amount.

A week later, Mr. Springer filed a motion in district court for the return of the currency. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g). The court denied the motion without prejudice. Thereafter, assistant United States attorneys instructed Agent Shern to return the money to Mr. Springer. Agent Shern obtained a $ 17,000 Treasury Department check and gave it to Mr. Springer. Upon receiving the check, Mr. Springer signed a release, agreeing to hold the IRS and its agents harmless from any claims, demands, damages, or legal action with respect to the seizure.

Approximately two months later, Mr. Springer brought this Bivens action against the agents seeking the return of the $ 2,000 and damages of $ 1,000,000 from each agent for violating his Fourth Amendment rights. Three agents moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, asserting the lawfulness of the seizure of the currency under the warrant and the unavailability of a Bivens remedy because Mr. Springer had a remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. section 1346, 2671-2680. 2 The district court denied the motion, reading Mr. Springer's allegations broadly to include the possibility the $ 2,000 was taken at his home. Also, noting "the Fourth Amendment is not confined to seizures that are the outcome of a search," the court could not conclude at that time "that the protection of the Fourth Amendment could not extend to a seizure of Springer's $ 2,000 if it occurred sometime after the IRS agents' search of Springer's home." Aplt. App., Vol. 1 at 49. Lastly, the court decided that the FTCA was not an exclusive remedy.

The agents then individually filed answers and collectively moved for judgment on the pleadings, asserting that because Mr. Springer had not presented a constitutional claim, they were entitled to qualified immunity and that he had not alleged facts showing that each agent was involved personally in the alleged wrongful conduct. The district court denied the motion. First, the court declined to alter its previous conclusion that it lacked sufficient evidence to determine whether the agents' alleged conduct violated the Fourth Amendment. Also, the court decided that the availability of a remedy under the FTCA or state law did not defeat a Bivens action. Further, citing Peoples v. CCA Detention Centers, 422 F.3d 1090 (10th Cir. 2005), vacated in part, 449 F.3d 1097 (10th Cir. 2006) (en banc) (per curiam), the court noted that the Tenth Circuit has not determined "whether the availability of FTCA and/or state court remedies precludes [Mr. Springer] from asserting a Bivens claim." Aplt. App., Vol. 2 at 271. The court therefore concluded that Mr. Springer had adequately alleged a constitutional violation against the agents. The agents appealed, but later withdrew their appeal.

The agents also moved in district court for summary judgment arguing that they are entitled to qualified immunity because their conduct did not violate the Fourth Amendment and the alleged Fourth Amendment violation is not clearly established. The district court denied summary judgment, first noting that it had already rejected the agents' argument that no Fourth Amendment claim could exist. Further, the court found that there are genuine issues of material fact remaining for trial "concerning whether the amount of money discovered in [Mr. Springer's] house was actually $ 19,000 . . . or only approximately $ 19,000" and "whether, where and how $ 2,000 of the cash disappeared." Aplt. App., Vol. 2 at 370-71. Also, the court found that it had previously rejected the agents' argument that no Fifth Amendment claim was available because Mr. Springer had an adequate post-deprivation remedy under the FTCA.

The agents moved to alter or amend the judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e), asserting their entitlement to qualified immunity because their conduct did not violate Mr. Springer's Fourth Amendment rights in light of available post-deprivation remedies and because the alleged Fourth Amendment right, if it exists, is not clearly established. The district court denied the motion, deciding a Fourth Amendment right was clearly established because Bivens had been in effect for more than thirty years. Also, the court pointed to Carlson v. Green, 446 U.S. 14, 19-20 (1980), where the Supreme Court held that an available remedy under the FTCA did not defeat a Bivens claim. Thereafter, the agents appealed from the denial of Rule 59(e) relief. The next day, they filed an amended notice of appeal, appealing from both the opinion and order denying their motion for summary judgment, as well as the order denying Rule 59(e) relief.

JURISDICTION

As an initial matter, we consider Mr. Springer's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. He makes three separate jurisdictional arguments.

First, Mr. Springer argues that this appeal is untimely because the agents previously appealed from the district court's denial of qualified immunity asserted in their motion for judgment on the pleadings, but later withdrew the appeal. He contends that that motion and the summary-judgment motion raised the same arguments and that the agents failed to present new evidence in the summary-judgment motion to support the same qualified immunity claim they previously raised. We conclude that Mr. Springer's argument lacks merit.

Although there is some overlap between the agents' qualified-immunity assertions in their motion for judgment on the pleadings and those in their motion for summary judgment, the arguments in the summary-judgment motion were more fully developed and relied on the agents' declarations, which were not referred to in the motion for judgment on the pleadings. Furthermore, the district court's analysis of the motion for judgment on the pleadings focused on the allegations in the complaint, whereas the court's analysis of the motion for summary judgment looked to the evidence presented in the light most favorable to Mr. Springer. See Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299, 309 (1996). Due to the difference in analysis,

t is clear that a defendant may assert qualified
immunity through a motion to dismiss, take an appeal
from the denial of such a motion, and if the appeal
is resolved unfavorably to him, renew the issue of
qualified immunity by way of a motion for summary
judgment, appealing once again, if necessary, from
the denial of the summary judgment motion.

Walker v. City of Orem, 451 F.3d 1139, 1146 n.5 (10th Cir. 2006); see also Behrens, 516 U.S. at 306-11 (recognizing that interlocutory appeals are permitted both at appeal of denial at dismissal stage and at later appeal of denial of summary judgment after further factual development). 3

Next, Mr. Springer argues that we lack jurisdiction to hear this appeal because the district court found that the agents' qualified immunity claims are based upon disputed facts that must be decided by a jury. "[A] defendant, entitled to invoke a qualified immunity defense, may not appeal a district court's summary judgment order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a 'genuine' issue of fact for trial." Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 319-20 (1995); see also Thomas, 607 F.3d at 659 ("An appellate court lacks jurisdiction in an interlocutory qualified immunity appeal to resolve genuine disputes of fact."). In other words, "we are not at liberty to review a district court's factual conclusions, such as the existence of a genuine issue of material fact for a jury to decide, or that a plaintiff's evidence is sufficient to support a particular factual inference." Zia Trust Co. ex rel. Causey v. Montoya, 597 F.3d 1150, 1152 (10th Cir. 2010) (quotation marks omitted). Indeed, our review must "scrupulously avoid second-guessing the district court's determinations regarding whether [a plaintiff] has presented evidence sufficient to survive summary judgment." Clanton v. Cooper, 129 F.3d 1147, 1153 (10th Cir. 1997).

But under the collateral order doctrine of Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 546 (1949), "a district court's denial of a claim of qualified immunity, to the extent that it turns on an issue of law, is an appealable 'final decision' within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. section 1291 notwithstanding the absence of a final judgment." Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530 (1985). Under the doctrine, "summary judgment determinations are appealable when they resolve a dispute concerning an abstract issue of law relating to qualified immunity-typically, the issue whether the federal right allegedly infringed was clearly established[.]" Behrens, 516 U.S. at 313 (alteration omitted) (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted).

"When a district court denies qualified immunity because of a factual dispute, that finding is not jurisdictionally dispositive on appeal if the defendants argue that immunity applies even under the plaintiff's version of the facts." Armijo ex rel. Armijo Sanchez v. Peterson, 601 F.3d 1065, 1070 (10th Cir. 2010) (quotation marks omitted); see also id. at 1074. Thus, "a district court's decision concerning the existence of a factual dispute is not dispositive of jurisdiction if the defendants can persuade us that, viewing those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, qualified immunity is warranted." Thomas, 607 F.3d at 662.

Even though the district court in this case concluded "that controverted issues of fact remain, [we] may consider the legal question of whether the [agents'] conduct, taken as alleged by [Mr. Springer], violates clearly established law." Thomas, 607 F.3d at 659. Even under the facts alleged by Mr. Springer, we decide a "purely legal" issue of whether those facts can "support a claim of violation of clearly established law." Johnson, 515 U.S. at 313 (quotation marks omitted). We therefore are not required to resolve any genuine issues of material fact. And as the agents argue, whether currency was seized, lost, or stolen is irrelevant to the legal questions posed in this appeal.

Next, Mr. Springer argues that we lack jurisdiction because a Rule 59(e) motion applies only to judgments and the district court's orders of April 7, 2009 denying summary judgment and of May 21 denying Rule 59(e) relief were not judgments. The Supreme Court has stated, however, that a district court's "order rejecting the defense of qualified immunity at . . . the summary judgment stage is a 'final' judgment subject to immediate appeal." Behrens, 516 U.S. at 307. It therefore follows that the summary-judgment order may be challenged by a Rule 59(e) motion before an appeal is taken. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(a) (defining "judgment" as "any order from which an appeal lies"); Lora v. O'Heaney, 602 F.3d 106, 110 (2d Cir. 2010) (stating timely filed Rule 59 motion tolls time for filing appeal from ruling denying qualified immunity); Roque-Rodriguez v. Lema Moya, 926 F.2d 103, 106 (1st Cir. 1991) (deciding that because district court's rejection of qualified immunity and denial of summary judgment was "functional equivalent of a judgment for purposes of appeal," court's order "came within the purview of" Rule 59(e)); cf. Camacho v. City of Yonkers, 236 F.3d 112, 114 n.2 (2d Cir. 2000) (assuming without deciding that appeal from order denying dismissal on qualified immunity grounds was appealable judgment for purposes of Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4)(A)(iv) and Rule 59(e)).

FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION

We review de novo the district court's decision to deny the agents' summary-judgment motion asserting qualified immunity. Armijo, 601 F.3d at 1070. Summary judgment is proper if "the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2). We "construe the record in the light most favorable to" Mr. Springer. York v. City of Las Cruces, 523 F.3d 1205, 1210 (10th Cir. 2008) (quotation marks omitted).

"Because of the underlying purposes of qualified immunity, we review summary judgment orders deciding qualified immunity questions differently from other summary judgment decisions." McBeth v. Himes, 598 F.3d 708, 715 (10th Cir. 2010) (quotation marks omitted). Qualified immunity "protects governmental officials from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Pearson v. Callahan, 129 S. Ct. 808, 815 (2009) (quotation marks omitted). Qualified immunity therefore is unavailable only (1) if a constitutional violation occurred and (2) if the violated constitutional right was clearly established when the violation occurred. Id. at 815-16. We may address these inquiries in any order. Id. at 818. Mr. Springer has the burden of satisfying each inquiry. Thomas, 607 F.3d at 662.

The agents argue that there was no Fourth Amendment violation because they participated in a seizure pursuant to a valid warrant, which authorized the seizure of currency. The Fourth Amendment protects "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. The Supreme Court has defined a seizure as "some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interests in [his] property." Soldal v. Cook County, 506 U.S. 56, 61 (1992) (quotation marks omitted).

In his complaint, Mr. Springer contended that the alleged $ 2,000 theft by the agents occurred either during the execution of the search warrant at his home or on the way to the bank. He stated that "$ 19,000 was seized and taken pursuant to a Court Ordered Search Warrant from [his] home and possession and because only $ 17,000.00 of said seizure actually survived from the search of [his] home to the depositing bank" the agents "stole $ 2,000.00 from [him]." Aplt. App., Vol. 1 at 38. Further, he asserted that the theft occurred at his home while the agents served the warrant. Id. at 39. Liberally construing Mr. Springer's complaint, he clearly asserts that $ 19,000 was seized pursuant to a warrant and the $ 2,000 theft occurred after the seizure. Mr. Springer, however, does not challenge the initial seizure of the $ 19,000. 4

We need not and do not decide whether the agents violated Mr. Springer's Fourth Amendment rights. Instead, we can more easily and quickly decide the clearly-established law question. See Pearson, 129 S. Ct. at 820. In declining to decide the Fourth Amendment issue, we follow the principle of not deciding a constitutional question when it is possible to avoid doing so. Id. at 821.

We conclude that there was no clearly established law holding that a theft of money during the execution of a valid search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment. "The relevant dispositive inquiry in determining whether a right is clearly established is whether it would be clear to a reasonable officer that his conduct was lawful in the situation he confronted." Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 202 (2001), overruled in part on other grounds by Pearson, 129 S.Ct. at 818.

The key to the analysis is notice-an official somehow
must be on notice that the conduct in question could
violate the plaintiff's constitutional rights. There
need not be precedent declaring the exact conduct
at issue to be unlawful, as long as the alleged unlawfulness
was apparent in light of preexisting law.

DeSpain v. Uphoff, 264 F.3d 965, 979 (10th Cir. 2001) (quotation marks omitted). "[F]or the law to be clearly established, there must be a Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit decision on point, or the clearly established weight of authority from other courts must have found the law to be as the plaintiff maintains." Thomas, 607 F.3d at 669 (quotation marks omitted). "[T]here is no need that the very action in question have previously been held unlawful." Safford Unified Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Redding, 129 S. Ct. 2633, 2643 (2009) (brackets omitted) (quotation marks omitted). Rather, it is only necessary that the unlawfulness of the conduct be apparent in light of the existing law. DeSpain, 264 F.3d at 979. The plaintiff has the burden to cite law he believes is clearly established. Thomas, 607 F.3d at 669.

Mr. Springer has failed to meet his burden. His citation to Bivens is insufficient to show the unlawfulness of the agents' conduct. Bivens generally established a cause of action for damages against federal agents acting under their authority who violate a plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights. 403 U.S. at 389. But the factual situation that led the Court to decide that the plaintiff's complaint stated a cause of action under the Fourth Amendment in Bivens, is quite different from that here.

Furthermore, neither the Tenth Circuit nor the Supreme Court had case law on point in September 2005 establishing that a theft by federal agents of lawfully seized currency during the execution of a valid search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment. Other circuits, however, had considered a similar issue by September 2005. Those circuits split on the Fourth Amendment issue.

Three of the four cases that had addressed the failure to return lawfully seized property had held that there was no Fourth Amendment violation. In Shaul v. Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School District, 363 F.3d 177, 179 (2d Cir. 2004), a school teacher filed a section 1983 action against school officials for unreasonably searching his classroom and taking certain items. 5 He contended that the failure to return the items was an unreasonable seizure of them. Id. at 187. Because the initial seizure was reasonable, the Second Circuit held that the defendants' failure to return property did "not, by itself, state a separate Fourth Amendment claim of unreasonable seizure." Id.

In Fox v. Van Oosterum, 176 F.3d 342, 344 (6th Cir. 1999), the plaintiff filed a section 1983 action seeking the return of his driver's license. The Sixth Circuit held there was no seizure and no violation of the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights, because the plaintiff was not challenging the initial seizure of his wallet, but, rather, only the refusal to return the license to him. Id. at 349, 350 (noting that seizure was complete before defendants refused to return license). The court pointed out that "the Fourth Amendment protects an individual's interest in retaining possession of property but not the interest in regaining possession of property." Id. at 351. "Once the act of taking the property is complete, the seizure has ended and the Fourth Amendment no longer applies." Id.

In Lee v. City of Chicago, 330 F.3d 456, 458-59 (7th Cir. 2003), the plaintiff's car was impounded for evidentiary purposes. The plaintiff, in his section 1983 action, did not dispute this seizure. Rather, he contended that the City of Chicago's refusal to return the car after concluding its search unless he paid a fee was an additional seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Id. at 460. The Seventh Circuit disagreed, holding that the Fourth Amendment applies to an individual's interest in retaining property, not in regaining property that has been lawfully taken. Id. at 466. "Once an individual has been meaningfully dispossessed, the seizure of the property is complete, and once justified by probable cause, that seizure is reasonable." Id. "Conditioning the car's release upon payment of towing and storage fees after the search was completed neither continued the initial seizure nor began another," id., and it did not "equate to a 'seizure' within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment," id. at 471.

Likewise, in Wagner v. Higgins, 754 F.2d 186, 187 (6th Cir. 1985), the plaintiff filed a section 1983 action asserting that after he was arrested and his automobile was impounded, police officials stole personal property from the automobile in violation of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Noting that the plaintiff did not challenge his arrest or the impoundment of his vehicle as violating the Fourth Amendment, the Sixth Circuit determined that there was no Fourth Amendment violation for the inventory search. Id. at 189-90. Further, the court held that after Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527 (1981), the plaintiff did not state a claim for relief under the Fourteenth Amendment and could seek return of the property under state conversion law. Wagner, 754 F.3d at 187, 191-92. 6

In comparison, the Fourth Circuit, in an unpublished case. determined that a theft of property constitutes a Fourth Amendment violation. In Mom's Inc. v. Willman, 109 F. App'x 629, 636-37 (4th Cir. 2004) (per curiam), the court held that the Fourth Amendment protected against the theft of a watch because the theft by the federal agents extended the seizure beyond its lawful duration. The court, however, also held that "those rights were not clearly established when the theft allegedly occurred." Id. at 636. Thus, the court determined that the federal agents were entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 637.

Given the disparity in the law, we conclude that it was not clearly established at the time of the search that the agents' alleged conduct of stealing money after it was lawfully seized pursuant to a valid search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, we must also conclude that the agents were entitled to qualified immunity. We reverse the district court's denial of qualified immunity, and remand for the court to enter judgment in favor of the agents.

FIFTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION

The agents argue that Mr. Springer's arguments are more appropriately characterized as a Fifth Amendment claim for deprivation of property without due process. As they recognize, however, and as Mr. Springer emphasizes, he did not assert a Fifth Amendment claim. We therefore will not address one.

CONCLUSION

The judgment of the district court is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this decision. Mr. Springer's motions to dismiss and for sanctions are DENIED.

Entered for the Court

David M. Ebel
Circuit Judge

//*//

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.


FOOTNOTES:


/1/ Because Mr. Springer has proceeded pro se at all times, we liberally construe all of his filings. See Kay v. Bemis, 500 F.3d 1214, 1218 (10th Cir. 2007).

/2/ The FTCA generally provides that the United States is liable for "loss of property . . . caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment." 28 U.S.C. section 1346(b).

/3/ Even if Mr. Springer's argument had merit, the agents withdrew their first appeal, and this is therefore our first opportunity to consider the qualified immunity issue. Cf. Grant v. City of Pittsburgh, 98 F.3d 116, 120 (3d Cir. 1996) (deciding there was no merit to argument that party may not appeal denial of motion for summary judgment where motion raises same legal arguments as prior motion to dismiss that was not appealed).

/4/ For the first time on appeal, Mr. Springer asserts that the search was defective. Aplee. Br. at 22. We will not consider this issue because it was not raised in the district court. See Walker v. Mather (In re Walker), 959 F.2d 894, 896 (10th Cir. 1992).

/5/ Bivens suit against a federal agent is the federal equivalent of a suit against State officials under section 1983. Hartman v. Moore, 547 U.S. 250, 254 n.2 (2006). Thus, we cite to both Bivens and section 1983 cases as authority.

/6/ Case law decided after September 2005 also does not clearly establish a Fourth Amendment violation. In Case v. Eslinger, 555 F.3d 1317, 1330 (11th Cir. 2009), the Eleventh Circuit declined to hold that the retention of legally seized property violated the Fourth Amendment. Instead, the court decided that failure to return items presented a Fourteenth Amendment due process claim. Id.


In Ali v. Ramsdell, 423 F.3d 810, 811-12 (8th Cir. 2005), the plaintiff, proceeding under section 1983, alleged that her Fourth Amendment rights were violated when a police officer executing a search warrant seized money during the search and converted it to his own use. The Eighth Circuit expressed "considerable doubt whether an allegation that property appropriately seized in executing a valid search warrant but not inventoried and stored in the manner required by state law even states a claim under the Fourth Amendment." Id. at 814. Rather, the court determined that the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment claim was properly dismissed because it was "barred by the availability of an adequate remedy under state law." Id. at 814-15 (relying on Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517 (1984)).

[notorial dissent]

So, in a nutshell, in spite, or perhaps, despite all of Springer’s noise and bluster, he lost on all counts(yet again)????

I am still somewhat confused as to why the DC did not simply dismiss the entire suit as nonsense to begin with.

As far as I can see, the only real “facts” in the matter are that property was seized at Springer’s house, under a warrant, and that among the things seized was a quantity of cash that was not accurately counted at the time, and then also not later, and that no accurate count was made until it was actually taken to the bank. The kicker here, is that unless the chain of evidence has been broken, the money should have been in a sealed bag that wasn't opened until it arrived at the bank, which should have tossed Springer's whole farago right out the window. I think it was sloppy that the agents didn’t actually count and inventory the money at seizure, but since we know Springer is prone to exaggeration(well actually outright lying when you get right down to it), and that his calculation skills are somewhat lacking, his contention that there was more money there than what the bank recorded is suspect and convenient at best.

I still do not see how he comes up with a 4th Amend complaint. To my way of thinking the most he has any real claim at is that there is $2000 missing, and he would have to prove it was there to begin with.

[Gregg]

It looks to me that there is $2,000 missing, and on that I always thought he had a case, for the $2,000. The agents counted it, gave a reciept for it and if there was a mistake in counting that's their problem. Or anyhow, that's how I see it. But that's a long way from "give me a million bucks cause you counted my money wrong"

[Famspear]

It looks to me that there is $2,000 missing, and on that I always thought he had a case, for the $2,000. The agents counted it, gave a reciept for it and if there was a mistake in counting that's their problem.......

I agree. The report of two different amounts counted -- and signed for -- bothers me.

[LPC]

It looks to me that there is $2,000 missing, and on that I always thought he had a case, for the $2,000. The agents counted it, gave a reciept for it and if there was a mistake in counting that's their problem.......

I agree. The report of two different amounts counted -- and signed for -- bothers me.

If Springer had sued the government for the $2,000 based on the original receipt, I think he could have (or should have) won.

But he chose to sue the agents individually for violating his constitutional rights, and that was a loser.

And by this time, his claim against the government is probably foreclosed by a statute of limitations.

[grixit]

Agreed. For once the original complaint of government malfeasance was at least arguable, then in typical tp fashion he obfuscated his own case.

You know, this forum has po'folk like Webhick, plutocrats like Gregg, rabid conservatives like Captain Kickback, and squishy soft liberals like me. And yet we all seem to side with Big Brother most of the time in these case. I think that says something about the tp movement.

[The Observer]

You know, this forum has po'folk like Webhick, plutocrats like Gregg,...

Gregg is from Pluto?

[bmielke]

You know, this forum has po'folk like Webhick, plutocrats like Gregg,...

Gregg is from Pluto?

I knew there was something off about him, I just assumed it was because he lives in Ohio.

[Gregg]

You know, this forum has po'folk like Webhick, plutocrats like Gregg,...

Gregg is from Pluto?

I knew there was something off about him, I just assumed it was because he lives in Ohio.

That and the green blood gives me away every time.

Seriously, I know that by a lot of definitions I am indeed a plutocrat, for all that I still consider myself a transmission mechanic from Argillite Kentucky....

[notorial dissent]

I think everyone has made very good points here, the question of the money being the only real and valid one here.

What I would still like to know, and which hasn’t been addressed at any point is what actually happened with the money while it was in custody? What is undisputed is that the agents seized a quantity of money from Looney Lindsey's dresser drawer, they did a rough count and listed it as aprox $19,000. Now did they just throw it in a sack and forget about it until they took it to the bank, or did they actually bag and seal it, like procedure requires, and then it should have been properly inventoried before taking it to the bank or what? So far neither Springer nor the Feds have been forthcoming about what happened with the money between the time it was seized and the time it was taken to the bank to be counted. The only way a real answer will be forthcoming is when that is answered.

The thing that bothers me on this is that at some point I remember Lindsey claiming there was $20,000 in the drawer, I am more than a little interested in the why of this myself, but that can wait for another day. When they seized it, the agents said it was approximately $19,000, but not an exact figure. When it was actually counted at the bank, it comes out to $17,000.

My biggest problem with all this, is that if Springer told me it was night, I would have to look out the door to see where the sun was, since he is basically a general purpose liar and fraud. I think the agents violated procedure when they didn’t actually count the money out there, but if it was in small bills, there is a lot of room for error, and I can see $17,000 coming up as $19,000, it still all boils down to the chain of custody, which has never been gone in to. So what it comes down to at best is that I don’t see any proof of anything happening other than Springer finding something else to soapbox on. It appears the agents probably badly violated protocol, but so far I don’t see any proof of anything being stolen. I quite frankly wouldn’t take Springer’s word on the time of day, let alone how much money he was hiding in his dresser drawer.

[wserra]

And by this time, his claim against the government is probably foreclosed by a statute of limitations.

Let's see. Two year statute for filing an FTCA claim. Incident September of 2005. Yep, I would say that this is a good example of how being an idiot can cost you what you may really be entitled to.

[ASITStands]

What I would still like to know, and which hasn’t been addressed at any point is what actually happened with the money while it was in custody?

That's precisely why Judge Frizzell at the Northern District denied the government's motions to dismiss FOUR TIMES before the government won on their THIRD interlocutory appeal.

He believed there were issues with the money that could only be resolved by trial.

Pertinent parts of his Opinion and Order at Docket 185 read: (see fn.3 at bottom)

This Bivens suit arises from events surrounding the September 16, 2005, execution by Internal Revenue Special Agents of a search warrant at the home of plaintiff in Kellyville, Oklahoma. During the search, agents seized currency they logged, tagged and inventoried as “approximately $19,000 cash.” The agents later delivered the currency to a local bank, where a teller informed the agents the amount of cash delivered was only $17,000. When the money was returned to plaintiff on January 10, 2006, the amount returned was $17,000. Plaintiff sued two assistant United States Attorneys 1 and the IRS agents. The IRS agents filed motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. [Doc. Nos. 12, 29, 30]. Those motions were denied. [Doc. No. 41]. Defendants then filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Doc. No. 106], raising the doctrine of qualified immunity, arguing the alleged theft or conversion was not a cognizable Bivens claim because plaintiff had a remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and asserting plaintiff had failed to allege defendants’ personal participation in the alleged constitutional violations. The motion was denied [Doc. No. 155]. Defendants then filed a motion for summary judgment, once again asserting qualified immunity [Doc. No. 156]. The court denied the motion [Doc. No. 172].

Citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e), defendants now ask the court “to alter or amend the judgment set forth in the Opinion and Order...to enter summary judgment in favor of all of the defendants and against the plaintiff, Lindsey K. Springer.” [Doc. No. 174].

Under the collateral order doctrine, a district court’s denial of a claim of qualified immunity, to the extent that it turns on an issue of law, is an appealable “final decision” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. §1291, notwithstanding the absence of a final judgment. Weise v. Casper, 507 F.3d 1260, 1263 (10th Cir. 2007), citing Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 546 (1949). Thus, defendants’ motion is properly brought as a Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend judgment.

Whether to grant or deny a motion to alter or amend judgment is committed to the discretion of the district court. See Hancock v. City of Oklahoma City, 857 F.2d 1394, 1395 (10th Cir. 1988). Recognized grounds for a motion to alter or amend a judgment include: (1) that the trial court has made a manifest error of fact or law, (2) that there is newly discovered evidence, or (3) that there has been a change in the law. All West Pet Supply Company, 847 F.Supp. at 860.

A motion to reconsider or to alter or amend may not be used as a vehicle for the losing party to rehash arguments previously considered and rejected by the district court. Id., citing National Metal Finishing Co., Inc. v. BarclaysAmerican/Commercial, Inc., 899 F.2d 119, 123 (1st Cir. 1990). Moreover, a motion to alter or amend cannot be used to raise new issues for the first time after entry of summary judgment. Id., citing Hashwani v. Barbar, 822 F.2d 1038, 1041 (11th Cir. 1987).

In general, defendants’ motion can be characterized as a rehash of previous arguments. They continue to assert that since they had a valid search warrant, their seizure of “approximately $19,000" cannot be challenged under the Fourth Amendment. Citing Ali v. Ramsdell, 423 F.3d 810 (8th Cir. 2005), and Fox v. Van Oosterum, 176 F.3d 342 (6th Cir. 1999), they argue plaintiff “had no possessory interest in the currency after it was seized,” and “the subsequent alleged theft or conversion of $2,000 of the currency did not violate his Fourth Amendment right to possess his personal property and effects.” [Doc. No. 175, p. 7]. 2 They also argue plaintiff may not assert a Fifth Amendment claim because he has a remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Both issues have been raised previously by defendants and addressed by the court in its orders of October 1, 2007 [Doc. No. 41], December 18, 2008 [Doc. No. 155], and April 7, 2009 [Doc. No. 172].

Defendants also complain the April 7, 2009, order failed to address the issue of whether plaintiff had established the second element required to overcome a qualified immunity defense.

Qualified immunity protects government officials from individual liability unless the official’s conduct violates clearly established constitutional rights. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982). When a defendant raises a qualified immunity defense, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing (1) that the defendant’s actions violated a constitutional or statutory right; and (2) the constitutional or statutory right was clearly established at the time of the conduct at issue. Perez v. Unified Govt of Wyandotte County, 432 F.3d 1163, 1165 (10th Cir. 2005). 3

The conduct at issue took place on September 16, 2005. As of that date, the Bivens doctrine had been in effect more than 30 years. See Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). The holding in Carlson v. Green, 446 U.S. 14 (1980) had been rendered more than 20 years previously. In Carlson, the court held the availability of an alternative federal law remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act did not defeat a Bivens action. Id. at 19-20. Defendants cite, and the court is aware of, no Tenth Circuit authority to the contrary. Moreover, the Federal Tort Claims Act itself explicitly provides its remedy is not exclusive for civil actions brought against employees of the United States government for a constitutional violation. 28 U.S.C. §2679(b)(2)(A).

FOOTNOTES:

/1/ On November 28, 2008, the court granted the Assistant United States Attorneys’ Motion
for Summary Judgment. [Doc. No. 150].

/2/ The court disagrees. The Fourth Amendment guarantees the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. Winters v. Board of County Commissioners, 4 F.3d 848, 853 (10th Cir. 1993), citing Soldal v. Cook County, Illinois, 506 U.S. 56, 61 (1992). A “seizure” of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual’s possessory interests in that property.” Winters, 4. F.3d at 853, citing Soldal, 506 U.S. at 61. The Tenth Circuit has held that a failure timely to return seized material which is without evidentiary value and which is not subject to forfeiture may state a constitutional or statutory claim. Davis v. Gracey, 111 F.3d 1472, 1477 (10th Cir. 1997).

/3/ Although issues of qualified immunity normally are questions of law decided prior to trial, in exceptional circumstances, historical facts may be so intertwined with the law that a jury question is appropriate as to the objective legal reasonableness of a defendant’s action. See Maestas v. Lujan, 351 F.3d 1001, 1007-08 (10th Cir. 2003); Keylon v. City of Albuquerque, 535 F.3d 1210, 1218-19 (10th Cir. 2008). Here, fact issues that need to be determined by the jury to resolve the qualified immunity defense include: whether the amount of cash seized was $17,000 or “approximately $19,000"; whether defendant’s took $2,000 when she was in close proximity to the seized money; and whether an agent or agents lost or stole approximately $2,000 of the currency.

Judge Frizzell believed fact issues needed to be determined by a jury before any question of qualified immunity could be decided. The word "approximately" has always bothered me.

This dispute is not over. Springer will probably appeal to the Supreme Court.

[LPC]

And by this time, his claim against the government is probably foreclosed by a statute of limitations.

Let's see. Two year statute for filing an FTCA claim. Incident September of 2005. Yep, I would say that this is a good example of how being an idiot can cost you what you may really be entitled to.

He's not just an idiot, he's an arrogant idiot. He wasn't satisfied to have a simple tort claim against the government. No, it had to be a violation of his constitutional rights.

So now he's out $2,000 (assuming that he ever had the additional $2,000 to begin with).

[notorial dissent]

Very good summation.

Since none of this was raised at trial, as far as I can see, isn't Springer foreclosed from bringing it up on appeal?

[Gregg]

When they seized it, the agents said it was approximately $19,000, but not an exact figure. When it was actually counted at the bank, it comes out to $17,000.

I am told by a police officer friend that whenever they count currency they are taught to always refer to it as "Approximately" whatever the amount is. He doesn't know why, but I guess that's just something they do.

[ASITStands]

I am told by a police officer friend that whenever they count currency they are taught to always refer to it as "Approximately" whatever the amount is. He doesn't know why, but I guess that's just something they do.

The currency was counted by two special agents, placed in bundles secured by paperclips and photographed by a third special agent in front of Springer's wife.

The Declaration of IRS Special Agent Donald A Anderson (Pts. 8-12) and the Declaration of IRS Special Agent William R Taylor (Pts. 9-13) give some details. Taylor explains "approximately."

9. After Jeane Springer (Ms. Springer) informed me that a large amount of cash and some jewelry were located in her bedroom drawer, she led Special Agent Anderson and myself to the master bedroom that was located on the first floor of the residence. Ms. Springer opened the top center drawer of the dresser and removed a purse. Ms. Springer then stated that there was currency inside the purse.

10. I asked Ms. Springer how much money was in the purse. She responded to my question by stating "I have no idea." The purse was then opened and I observed a large number of bills in United States currency. Special Agent Anderson called Special Agent Loy Smith to come into the master bedroom to photograph the currency.

11. Ms. Springer stated that the cash was her husband's money. She also stated that she used this cash to buy food, clothes and for living expenses.

12. The currency, which appeared to consist of$20 and $100 bills, and a one ounce gold liberty coin were removed from the purse and spread out on the dresser. Special Agent Smith took some photographs of the currency and the gold coin.

13. I initially determined that there was approximately $19,000.00 in currency which was secured in bundles by large paperclips. I did not count the individual banknotes that were taken from the purse because it is not par of our procedures to count the actual amount of currency. Instead, the currency is taken to a bank, where an accurate count of the currency seized is made by bank personnel. I counted the number of bundles of currency and made an approximate estimate of the total amount of money. Another reason the currency was not individually counted was because there was no intention to seize it when it was initially discovered by myself and the other Agent.

How do two agents count bundles of currency, secure them by paperclips, both coming up with "approximately" $19,000, only to find out when counted at the bank it's only $17,000?

That's precisely why Judge Frizzell said there were fact issues only a jury could decide.

Someone appears to be lying! Whether it rises to a Fourth Amendment claim is a question Judge Frizzell thought could only be resolved after a jury determined the facts and before any qualified immunity could be granted the special agents taking part in the seizure.

The Tenth Circuit skirted those fact issues and decided that since the agents had no notice that stealing money during the course of a search warrant was a crime, they had immunity.

Qualified immunity was granted because they were acting under a search warrant.

[Omne]

How do two agents count bundles of currency, secure them by paperclips, both coming up with "approximately" $19,000, only to find out when counted at the bank it's only $17,000?

Very easily. I read it as the money was already paper clipped into bundles. The only loose currency was the money from the purse. So, they estimate how much is in a bundle and multiply. If it turned out that the bundles weren't uniform then the estimate would be off, especially with a mix of $20s and $100s. It wouldn't take much to throw it off if they assumed that the bundles had more $100s then there actually were. I've been on these, there's a lot going on to keep track of, which is one of the reasons they wait for the bank to make an accurate count.

Use some common sense here folks. If they were going to steal the money they would have given her a receipt for approximately $15,000, not $19,000. Even the cops in the Rampart Division in LA weren't dumb enough to give an accurate receipt and then steal the money.

[Famspear]

Under no circumstances would I take possession of cash in a situation like this without an accurate count. No "approximations."

I'm a former bank auditor. Our rule was: You don't even walk into a vault without a witness right there with you, much less allow anyone to take possession of currency and coin without an exact count, documented, etc.

The law enforcement people in this case could have saved themselves all this hassle by simply making an accurate count with multiple witnesses, right there at the site. This was a substantial sum of money. And don't tell me they couldn't have made an accurate count. Anything less than this invites.... well, invites all the litigation that resulted here.

EDIT: The largest sum of actual Federal Reserve notes and U.S. current coin in my presence was in a bank vault on one branch audit I worked -- approximately a million dollars. Other branches had as little as $80,000 in the vault. Curiously, counting and being "with" a million dollars in cash didn't really "feel" any different than the $80,000 vault -- it just took more people to do the job, and it took longer.

[The Observer]

The problem I have with all of this is that I simply can't believe that there weren't procedures in place when CI agents have to take possession of money. I am willing to bet these agents screwed up big time and failed to follow the book.

[notorial dissent]

It still comes down to the the count was "approximately $19,000.00 ", not a specific dollar amount, and it says very specifically that they estimated the amount based on the bundles that were already there, which means they "guessed" at what was there. The money should have been double counted and inventoried when it was taken to the office, and it would appear that it wasn't, so somewhere along the line I would suspect that rules weren't followed.

So, no conspiracy, nothing criminal, just sloppy.

And I still wouldn't take Springer's word for the time of day.